Why You Need Background Checks for Your Small Business

Why You Need Background Checks for Your Small Business

When you bring a new person onto your team, you should do so with an adequate amount of information. You’ve worked hard to build your business and establish your name. Hiring the wrong person can effectively ruin what you’ve built.

Fortunately, you have the ability to conduct background checks on any person that you are interested in hiring. If a qualified applicant comes through your computer screen, it’s simple to determine quickly whether or not they are the right fit for your company. Background checks for small business are absolutely vital — and here’s why.

1. You Can Discover a Criminal History

Should a criminal history be an automatic red flag for disqualification? Of course not. But it should cause you to scrutinize the applicant more closely. At times, a criminal history will disqualify someone based on their past being a dangerous or untrustworthy one. At other times, the criminal history is minor or irrelevant. What a criminal history will do is allow you to make an educated decision when it comes to hiring or disqualifying that candidate.

2.Other Infractions May Be Highlighted

Let’s say that your business handles a large amount of cash money. You run a background check and the person has a terrible credit history full of debt and missed payments. That may alert you to the possibility that they may not exactly be the right fit for what you need. What if you run a background check and the person has a horrible driving record? If your opening is going to require that the person drive the company car back and forth, that driving record may indicate that you should keep looking.

3. It Shows Due Diligence

Here’s a great example. You don’t run a background check and hire someone to make deliveries. That person wrecks the box truck and causes a multi-car accident on the highway. The police discover that the person has multiple accidents and several DUIs on their driving record. Because you failed to conduct a background check for small business, you could be held partially liable. When you run a check, you are showing due diligence and reducing your chances of liability should an incident arise.

4. You Get the Big Picture

Most adults have been through a job interview or two in their lives. They know how to answer questions and they know how to make a good impression. You may have a good radar for people and their true characters. Then again, you may not. When you run a background check, you get a better overall picture of the applicant. You will find out who the person really is and whether or not you really want to hire them.

5. Keeping Everyone Safe

If you believe that everyone is good, you may be making a mistake. The truth of the matter is that some people are dangerous. What if you fail to run a background check and the person you hire has a past of sexual assault. What if that person then attacks you, one of your employees or a customer? Like the driving example above, you could be held liable. Run a background check to help weed out those applicants who could potentially put people at risk if you bring them aboard.

6. You Can Stay Drug Free

Not you exactly, but your workplace. As part of a background check, you are legally able to require a drug test. If a person comes back positive for any substance, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether or not they are suited for your company. If you’ve worked hard to maintain a drug-free work environment, it would certainly be considered a red flag if a potential employee came back positive during a background check.

7. You Will Find Out About Those White Lies

You may find it hard to believe, but people do lie on job applications. Padding a resume is one of the most frequent “lies” out there. When you run a background check, you will quickly see whether or not a resume matches an actual work history. If it doesn’t, you know that the person you are talking to is not an honest one. Is that the person you want to hire for the position?

8. Verification

When you run a background check, you can verify what people have told you. It really is that simple. You can be sure that they went to school where they say, that they have earned the degrees and certifications they claim and more.

9. You Can Relax

While there are certainly better reasons for running a background check, we still believe that this one is important. It gives you peace of mind. When you run a background check, you can breathe easy, or easier, knowing the person you choose to hire. You won’t have to worry about whether they are a thief, violent or otherwise not a good fit for your company.

10. You Can Choose the Right Person

At the end of the day, a a background check is just one more way to ensure that you are hiring the right candidate for the position. While nothing in life is guaranteed, this certainly makes things easier. With the number of applicants you are going to be getting, you would be doing yourself a disservice not to do everything in your power to make sure you were choosing the best.

Company.com Can Help with Background Checks for Small Business

We know that you only have so much time in the day. That’s why we are here to help you. Our small business hiring tool quickly lets you post a job all over the internet, quickly screen candidates and keep track of the ones you like, run background checks and more. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer, or to start a free trial of our premium software package.